Free Tools for Professionals

Want to know more about Healthy Transitions for Girls? Download the Introduction for FREE.

Healthy Transitions for Girls Facilitator’s Guide Introduction

This FREE Parents Workshop Activity will raise awareness of the challenges confronting today’s girls and help you introduce girls and their parents to the Healthy Transitions for Girls Curriculum.  In this workshop you can help parents and girls:

• Learn communication skills
• Learn how to combat harmful media messages
• Recognize the importance of the mind-body connection
• Recognize belief systems that support positive body image and positive self-image
• Challenge belief systems that contribute to negative body image
• Create a media-friendly home environment

Parents Workshop Activity

This Parent Workshop Activity Bundle includes a workshop plan for a 90 minute or 120 minute workshop, step-by-step directions for a variety of hands-on activities, and full color handouts for a creative and informative presentation! Also included is a promotional flyer and a parent consent form for girls to participate in a Healthy Transitions for Girls Workshop Series.

For Counselors and Therapists: Frequently Asked Questions About the Healthy Transitions for Girls Curriculum 

Q. Can the Healthy Transitions for Girls materials be used for older teens?

Yes, I have used these materials with senior high school girls and even college girls.  Although the pictures in the book are geared for younger girls, many of the activities can be used for older teens and even adults. 

Q: What if I am required to use only evidence-based practices?  

A: Healthy Transitions for Girls provides excellent tools to support evidence-based practices in group and individual counseling. Each activity has been designed with a theoretical framework in mind. The activities and handouts in Chapter 1 provide essential tools for cognitive reframing in a Cognitive Behavioral Approach. Chapter 4 provides activities which can be used in a family therapy setting to increase understanding of family life stage, active listening, and conflict management skills between parent and child. Both Chapter 4, “Building Parent Connections,” and Chapter 8, “Coping Skills and Problem-Solving Skills,” present skills that are effective for a Solution-Focused Model. Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) strategies are used in Chapter 1, “I Am A Palace of Possibilities: Build Positive Belief Systems,” Chapter 2, “The Mind-Body Connection,” and Chapter 8, “Coping Skills and Problem-Solving Skills”; using “mindfulness” and watching for “body signs” to promote emotional regulation are adapted to the needs of young girls.  Chapter 5, “Building Supportive Connections with Other Girls,” utilizes DBT Interpersonal Effectiveness Skills to help girls set boundaries and make requests appropriately. Chapter 10, “Physical Self-Esteem,” utilizes a Gestalt Approach in the I Am Thankful for All My Body Does for Me Activity. Because Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT), presented in Chapter 8, is a newer therapy in the field of energy psychology, I provide extensive links to research on this strategy on this website. Remember too, that the entire curriculum is based upon an evidence-based model as outlined by Choate (2008) and published by the American Counseling Association. 

Q: The activities are designed for groups. Can they be used in individual counseling?  

A: As a counselor who has worked in a busy agency, I know how much therapists in the trenches need resources to address specific client problems. We are constantly scrambling to find tools to meet the difficult challenges our clients bring in to our offices. Candidly, this book presents the tools I most needed to be a more effective therapist. Instead of going through multiple files and workbooks to find activities, I just pull out my Healthy Transitions for Girls Facilitator’s Guide. 

Many girls with low self-esteem or depression do not understand the effect of the larger media culture on their belief systems; Chapter 7, “Media Literacy and Critical Thinking,” increases awareness of harmful media influences and gives them tools to combat these messages. Girls who need help with boundary setting and co-dependency in relationships will benefit from activities in Chapter 5, “Building Supportive Connections with Other Girls,” and Chapter 6, “Building Healthy Boy-Girl Friendships.” Chapter 3, “The Mind-Body Connection,” and Chapter 8, “Coping Skills and Problem-Solving Skills,” have activities which specifically address trauma and anxiety. Using activities from these chapters, clients learn self-help skills, self-soothing skills, and relaxation skills that they can use to mediate panic and anxiety. Whether you need activities for a group to develop positive body image, or a book with activities to enhance general counseling practice, this book has tools to address the common challenges you face with your adolescent clients. 

Q: What if I need handouts to use with my individual clients?  

A: You may purchase and download handouts for individual clients here on the Healthy Transitions for Girls website. You can purchase the entire set of full-color handouts, or you can purchase specific sets of full-color handouts, depending upon your need. The handouts in this Facilitator’s Guide (except Handout 2) should not be photocopied, not only because it violates the copyright and license agreement, but because you will enhance your program effectiveness by using full-color handouts.

For School Counselors and Prevention Specialists: Frequently Asked Questions About the Healthy Transitions for Girls Curriculum

 Q: How do I introduce this curriculum to my school and community?  

A: In my experience, most administrators and community leaders know the problems; they are already searching for the exact solutions offered in this book. Since funding is always a challenge, the fact that Healthy Transitions for Girls is a prevention approach to a wide variety of problems has great appeal. Monies designated for bullying, mental health concerns, violence prevention, and/or substance abuse prevention can be used to fund this curriculum. 

If parent and community education is part of your assignment, a free parent workshop plan is provided (see top of page) which is an excellent way to raise awareness of the issues currently facing girls. The parent workshop plan can be adapted for use with community groups as well. Of particular value in educating community groups is the Media Detectives Activity in Chapter 7, “Media Literacy and Critical Thinking.” As adults become acquainted with the terminology and information in this activity, they gain a profound awareness of the need for a team approach to the problems girls face.  

 Consider also, that the Princess Academy Book Club presented in Chapter 12 of the Healthy Transitions Facilitator’s Guide would be a great after-school program that could be offered through your local library, 4-H program, or women’s crisis center. Network with existing groups that already have funding and facilities to incorporate this valuable prevention approach.

 Q: What if I need a curriculum plan that is shorter or longer than 12 weeks?

A: While Chapter 11, “Workshop and Curriculum Planning,” offers you two different workshop plans, you can easily customize your own prevention program. This curriculum is built upon an evidence-based model that requires certain protective factor areas to be covered as explained previously. As long as you design a workshop plan that covers each of these areas, you have built a foundation for achieving a measurable success with your girls. If you need a program that is shorter than 12 weeks, simply choose at least one or two activities from each chapter, Chapters 1-10. Choose activities that you feel are most needed, based upon your understanding of your clients. Be sure to include the parents as they are an important factor in long-term success.

 If you need more than 12 weeks of activities, supplemental activity ideas are provided at the end of each workshop in Chapter 11. Chapter 12, “Using Princess Academy in Healthy Transitions for Girls,” also provides additional ideas for workshops using a “bibliotherapy” approach. You can also supplement the Healthy Transitions for Girls curriculum with activities from other prevention programs. For example, when you address peer relationships in Chapter 5, “Building Supportive Connections with Other Girls,” you can add activities from a bullying prevention program. When you address Chapter 10, “Physical Self-Esteem,” you can integrate lessons on substance abuse prevention. Activities in Chapter 3, “Holistic Wellness” integrates well with values education. Chapter 8, “Coping Skills and Problem-Solving Skills,” and Chapter 9, “Gender Role,” have activities that would work well with a life skills group.  

 Q: What if I only have time for 60-minute workshops?

A: The 12 week workshop plan is designed for 55–60 minute sessions. The Princess Academy Book Club workshops (explained in Chapter 12) last 60 minutes and have been successfully conducted during the school lunch period. We obtained additional time after the lunch break since we were using a literacy-based approach and many grade and middle schools have sustained reading time or literacy programs after lunch.

Buy the Healthy Transitions for Girls Curriculum